Movie Night
by Wrdo
Summary: Death decides to take Dream and Delirium out to go see some movies. Hilarity ensues. Rated T for language, really no other reason. This is mostly just fluff and comedy.
1. Chapter 1

**Heyo. So here's my first (public) attempt at a Sandman fic. I hope that you all enjoy it, and that it does not suck... WELP here it is.**

Movie Night

1.

"Dream? Are you home?"

"My sister?" Dream turned around and headed for his gallery. As he entered, he saw his sister Death standing in front of the wall holding his siblings' sigils.

"Oh there you are," she said with a smile.

"Did you need anything?" Dream asked.

"I wouldn't say _need_, per se," she said. "Dream, when was the last time you went out?"

He was dumbfounded. "…What?"

"You know. When was the last time you went and have fun?" Death asked.

"Sister, I'm not sure what you're trying to say."

"Oh it's simple," she said. "I'm taking you out to go see some movies with me."

He was dumbfounded again.

"No."

"Yes."

"No."

"Come on Dream, it'll be fun."

"I have responsibilities to my realm," he said. "I can't abandon them at the drop of a hat for something frivolous. And neither can you."

"First of all, we both know how good I am at multi-tasking," Death said. "Second, there is a difference between abandoning your responsibilities and taking a break. And are you having any emergencies? Any crisis that needs your immediate attention? An apocalypse maybe?"

"Sister…"

"No, there isn't." Death put her hands on her hips. "It's been way too long since you've had any fun at all. Now come on, I am taking you to a damn movie. Right now. No arguments."

Dream sighed and covered his eyes. "Fine," he said.

"Good," Death said. "Now hold on a sec while I get Delirium."

"Delirium? Is she coming with us?"

"Yeah. Should be fun." Death stood in front of their sister's sigil, a mass of swirling colors. "Delirium? Li'l sis? Me and Dream are gonna go see a movie. Wanna come with?"

"A movie?" they heard Delirium's voice through the frame. A moment later, she stood in Dream's gallery, a wide smile across her face. "Yes yes yes yes yes!"

"Excellent," Death said. She linked her arms with each of her siblings', and they began to travel. "Off we go!"

A moment later, they were standing in front of a small brick building in the waking world. A ticket window was next to the door, a man sitting behind the window and looking bored.

"It's a good place," Death said, holding open the door as Dream and Delirium walked in. "I come here sometimes. It's just one screen, but the atmosphere is great, the staff are friendly, and the movies are just overall fun."

"I saw a movie about a man who was eating and then there was a bug I think, maybe it was a flower, sometimes I like to watch when I'm dancing, and then there's red and blue and yellow and water," Delirium said.

"So what film are you making us watch?" Dream asked, walking into the room with the screen.

"First, we watch _Mary Poppins,_" Death said.

"First?" Dream repeated.

"Can I have popcorn?" Delirium asked.


	2. First Interlude

First Interlude

Maggie Grimes wasn't homeless, she was on the run. Had been for over a year now. Or was it two? Hard to keep track sometimes.

She wasn't always on the run. She used to live in a small, cold, dirty apartment on the other side of the city. The place made her miserable, and her pills made her miserable, and her job made her miserable, until the job fired her. And then she couldn't pay rent, and then she couldn't refill her prescription, and she kept meaning to, she really did. But money was tight, and besides that stuff always made her feel sick, she'll be fine for a few days off of it, wouldn't she?

And then suddenly, Maggie was ENLIGHTENED. And she realized that she _couldn't _take the meds. The meds were how The Eyes were keeping tabs on her. And The Eyes knew everything there was to know, everything needed to end the world, but _no one else knew!_

So Maggie left the apartment and went on the run, now enlightened. She tried to enlighten others, she really did, but they _wouldn't listen!_ _Why_ wouldn't they listen? It broke her heart.

Today, Maggie had enough change in her cup to go see a movie. She didn't really care which one, she just wanted to go someplace that was dark and warm and would distract her from her fear of The Eyes. She bought her ticket and coughed, a deep hacking from deep within her chest.

She entered the little theater and went to find a seat that was out of the way. _Mary Poppins_ was playing. Let's go fly a kite. It was mostly kids and moms in the audience, but she could see some lone adults sitting down to enjoy the film as well.

She paused when she saw a small group of friends (siblings perhaps? They looked alike) in Goth clothes, sitting in a row of seats behind her. Two girls and a guy. It was the girl in the middle who caught her attention. A short, pale girl with half of her hair shaved off, the other half was long and wild and blonde and pink and orange. Her eyes were mismatched; one was a sapphire blue, and the other was an electric green. She was eating popcorn and gummi turtles. The girl saw Maggie staring and waved happily. Maggie turned back around and faced the screen, feeling uneasy.

The room darkened and the screen sprang to life.


	3. Chapter 2

2.

"That was fun," Death said, stretching her arms. The theatre was getting brighter as the credits rolled across the screen. The two aisles were crowded with mothers and children leaving the theatre. But Death stayed in her seat.

"Let's do that again… maybe?" Delirium said.

"Sister," Dream looked over at Death. "The film is over."

"Yep," Death said.

"Will you stop trying to quiet me every time I try to talk?"

"What's on your mind, little brother?"

"You mentioned before that this was the first film?" he asked.

"Oh yeah, there's at least one more playing that I want us to see," Death said. "It's playing in about an hour."

"Will this one have votes for kittens?" Delirium asked.

"You'll see," Death said. She stood up and stretched. "In the meantime, why don't we go for a walk, and maybe get something to eat?"

"Sister, this is foolishness," Dream said.

"Yeah, I know," Death said. "That's why we're doing it. Now shut up and have fun."

She led them to a side door, leading them to outside the building. Delirium smiled when she saw the heavy flow of traffic in front of them.

"Hey Dream?" she asked "Remember when we were out that one time and I was driving and I was really really good at driving? I just forgot to stay on the right."

"Yes."

"And then your eleventh and a halfth raven came and he helped me drive because I can drive good! What was his name? It began with a C… Clarence? Colin? Colleen?"

"Matthew."

"Oh. Right."

Death led them to a small deli nearby where she bought herself a sub and some chocolate. While Delirium made her order and ransacked the shelves, Dream focused on his realm, looking for any drastic changes, any trouble. Finding none, he located his servant, Lucien.

_"Lucien?"_ he asked, speaking to the librarian in his mind.

"_Yes my lord?"_

"_How are things going?"_ Dream asked.

"_Everything's still going fine,"_ Lucien said. "_Nothing to report."_

"_Oh. Keep me posted._"

"_Yes, Lord Morpheus."_

As he disconnected, he looked up and saw Death smiling at him.

"I told you everything would be fine," she said.

"How did you know?" he asked.

"Well, for starters, if there was a problem you'd be back there faster than I can blink," Death said.

"I once did that. Blink. I blinked for 54,932 days," Delirium said. She was opening a jar of chocolate caviar. "It was fun. I think." She licked some of the caviar off her fingers, and then made a face.

Outside the deli, they sat at tables where the customers could eat their food. While Death and Delirium discussed _Mary Poppins,_ Dream watched a young couple sitting at the table next to them. There was a young man with dark hair and a fedora, and a young woman wearing a bright red coat. They were holding hands. At one point, the boy went back into the deli, and the girl began to sing "Smells Like Teen Spirit "under her breath.

"Penny for your thoughts," Death said.

"Humans are strange," Dream answered.

"Look! It's a squirrel!" Delirium squealed. "I wanna pet it!"

She bolted from her seat and chased after the terrified little animal as it scurried down the sidewalk and up a nearby tree.

"Yeah, humans are strange," Death said. "But so are we."

"Aw," Delirium said. She jumped up and down, trying to reach it. "Come back squirrel! I just wanted to play!"

Delirium trudged back to the table and sat down.

"How were you expecting that to end?" Dream asked. Over at the next table, the girl in the red coat started to laugh.

"Hey, the other movie's gonna start soon," Death said. "You guys wanna head back?"

"Only if I can bring my fishies," Delirium said.

"You can bring whatever you want, kiddo," Death said.

They started to walk back to the theatre, Delirium leaving a trail of multicolored fish swimming in the air behind her. The young couple walked ahead of them, talking to each other. At one point, Dream could hear the boy say, "I really love this movie. It's in my top three favorite films."

"So what are we seeing?" Dream asked as they approached the theatre.

"Did I forget to tell you?" Death said. "Sorry, must have slipped my mind. Anyway, I think it's something you'll like Dream. It's called _Endless Sunshine of the Spotless Mind_."

"Why do you think I'd like it?" Dream asked.

"Let's just say that it's your kind of story," Death said with a smile.

They walked back into the theatre. A new crowd was assembling, a larger one consisting of adults. There was a buzz of conversation in the air as they took their seats, holding bags of popcorn and plastic cups of beer. In the front row, a homeless woman crept to a seat and settled in, looking out for theatre staff. Death, Dream, and Delirium sat back down in their previous seats. Delirium sat in between her siblings, petting a purple kitten in her lap.

"Del, you might wanna put her away for a little while," Death whispered.

"Oh. Uh. Sure," the kitten vanished in a puff of psychedelic colors.

The young couple walked into the row in front of them. Without looking around, the girl draped her long red coat over the back of her seat, and it fell into Dream's lap.

"Shit! I'm sorry about that!" she said, grabbing the coat.

"It's no problem," Dream said.

She looked into his face and became slack-jawed for a moment. "Uh… have we met?"

"After a fashion," Dream replied. "Nothing you would remember."

"Oh," she said. "Those are cool contacts. Where did you get them?"

"You should turn your attention elsewhere," Dream said, using his power to nudge her interest off of him. She turned back around and chatted away with the boy. On the other side of Delirium, Death giggled.

The lights dimmed to black, and the screen went to life.

**Supercalifragilisticexpialid ocious! Ok, before anyone says anything, I know that "Eternal Sunshine" was made after "Sandman" ended. OH WELL. It's a fanfic. I don't care. I mean, uh, something something time travel, something...**

**Welp, I tried to keep these characters as much in character as possible. I may have toed the line in some instances, but I hope it's forgivable.**


	4. Second Interlude

Second Interlude

The movie was starting, and Maggie Grimes was tired. So, so tired. She had hid in the bathroom in between movies, so then the staff wouldn't find her and kick her out. She wanted to be warm a little longer.

Onscreen, Jim Carrey was confused and Kate Winslet had blue hair. _And they call me crazy_, she thought. Man, was she sleepy. Movie theatres were a good place to sleep. If you can ignore the noise, you can get a good two, maybe three hours of sleep. And The Eyes can't see you in the darkness and the sound. It's safe.

She nodded off, then jerked her head, suddenly awake. Jim Carrey was crying in his car. Kate Winslet didn't recognize him. Nodding again, awake again. Joel tried to navigate through the winding labyrinth of his mind, trying to rescue the one thing he needed, and Maggie could understand that so well, her heart felt so heavy…

And then she was walking through a warm tunnel, trying to navigate to the light, trying to escape The Eyes. Every time she thought she was safe, They would come and find her, and she would have to run again.

Ahead was a door. Maggie ran in and found herself in the sunny living room of her grandmother's house, back from when Maggie was a little sweet girl without voices telling her to run. And there were the sisters, April, May, June, and July. They were playing a game on the floor, but they wouldn't tell Maggie the rules, they just expected her to start playing with them, and Maggie tried to tell them that she needed help.

"So go in there," the May said, and pointed to her grandmother's kitchen.

Maggie walked into the kitchen, and found herself back in the empty movie theatre. A wooden stage sat in front of the screen, playing a movie with Jim Carey and Kate Winslet. Onstage was an old easy chair, and one of her high school teachers was sitting in it and knitting an orange sweater under the spotlight.

"I thought I was safe," Maggie said.

The teacher raised a finger to his lips. "Shh," he said. "They're trying to watch the movie."

Maggie turned around and saw them. The three people from before. Before she had noticed the small girl with the energy. But now she looked at the man sitting next to her.

Tall, pale as bone, clothes made from the night sky. And his eyes, oh god, his eyes were stars, suns that burn through the vacuum of space for thousands of years even after they are dead. Stars. In his eyes.

Eyes.

Maggie ran away as fast as she could.

**And the moral of this story is watch Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind. You will enjoy it. I promise.**


	5. Chapter 3

3.

"That was fun," Delirium said as the credits rolled. The lights began to turn on in the theatre. The audience began to stand and stream out the door.

"Well, I'm glad you liked it," Death said. "Dream, what'd you think?"

Dream continued to stare at the screen.

"Dream?"

He jumped a little, startled. "Oh… I'm sorry," he said. "I was lost in thought."

Death grinned. "Told ya you'd like it." She stood up and leaned against the seats of the row in front of them, stretching out her arms.

In the row in front of them, the young couple was beginning to exit the theatre. The girl in the red coat was looking behind her. "I think I might have seen them before," she was saying to the boy. "I just can't remember where."

"Maybe at a cosplay?" the boy suggested. "Those are cool contacts."

"Those contacts are _bitching_," the girl agreed. "I wonder where he got them?"

Death laughed.

"You know Dream, I think I'd really like to see a human find a way to copy your eyes," she said.

"Um, I don't." Delirium. She started to wring her hands, and her hair turned magenta. "That's kinda scary sometimes. Especially when he's not happy or angry or sad or… or something."

"Del, hold on," Death said.

"But, but, you weren't." Delirium said in a rush. "Scary. Today. Or yesterday. Or tomorrow."

Dream was quiet for a moment, and then he smiled. "Thank you."

Delirium shrugged. Suddenly, she leaned forward and placed a quick peck on her brother's cheek. She skittered away after a moment, out of the row of seats and into the aisle.

"Bye!" she said with a wave. "I had lotsa lotsa fun! Thanks guys!"

She vanished in a wave of tie-dyed colors, leaving behind brightly colored butterflies in her wake.

"Wow," Death said. "I don't think I've ever seen her so chipper around you. You really have changed, haven't you?"

"I doubt that, my sister."

Death sighed. "Well, all good things must come to an end," she said. She looked over at the front row of seats. "I gotta get back to work."

"Yes. I'd imagine so," Dream said.

The theatre was empty now. There were only four left in the room. Dream followed Death as she walked to the front row of seats. Maggie Grimes stood in the empty aisle, staring at her own dead body, curled into a seat.

"Jesus," Maggie said. "I look like I'm asleep, don't I?"

"Yeah," Death said. "Not the worst way to go."

Maggie groaned and covered her face with her hands.

"What's wrong?" Death asked.

"I really fucked up," Maggie said. "I've spent the last… I don't even know how long I was off my meds and living on the streets. And now I've died while watching fucking _Mary Poppins_!"

"Like I said," Death said. "There are worse ways to go."

Maggie sighed and continued to stare at her dead body.

"Maggie, it's time for us to go," Death said, holding out her hand.

"Go where?" Maggie asked.

"I don't know," Death said. "But that part's up to you, mostly."

"Before you go, may I have a moment?" Dream asked, stepping forward. Death cocked her head.

"You were right," Dream said. "Thank you, my sister. I enjoyed today."

"Anytime, little brother." Death said, and wrapped her arm around him in a loose hug. She turned back to Maggie Grimes. "Are you ready?"

Maggie gave once last glance to her body, then straightened her shoulders. She took Death's hand. There was a fluttering of wings, and then they were gone.

Dream stood alone in the empty theatre. He stuck his hands in his pockets and began to walk out the exit and into the city night. Absent-mindedly, he started to hum, "Feed the Birds."

**Thank you all for reading my fanfic! I hope you didn't hate it!**

**In case you were wondering what was up with Maggie, I kinda just wanted to tinker around with someone who would be in the 3 realms of the Endless that are in this fic; insanity, dreaming and death. There was no real reason for it, I just kinda wanted to see how it would go. I hope that I didn't offend anyone with a mental illness similar to Maggie's, or someone who you care about like her. It wasn't my intention to offend, and if I have painted the mentally ill in a bad light, please tell me so I can change it.**

**But again, thank you for reading! Sweet dreams everyone!**


End file.
